Wayzata World Factbook 1996/The World Factbook - 1996 Edition - Wayzata Technology (3079) (1996).iso/mac/TEXT/HUMANrts/RUSSIA.TXV

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TITLE:  RUSSIA HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994
AUTHOR:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DATE:  FEBRUARY 1995



Section 5  Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
           Disability, Language, or Social Status

Article 19 of the Constitution prohibits discrimination based
on race, sex, religion, language, social status, or other
circumstances.  Both official and societal discrimination still
exist.

     Women

Although women are entitled to the same legal rights as men, in
practice they are subject to considerable discrimination, both
official and unofficial.  Women are often paid less than men
for equal work and frequently are the first to be laid off as
enterprises reduce staff because of a societal bias in favor of
male employment as the primary income for the family.  While
methodologically reliable statistics are difficult to compile,
the Center for Gender Studies in Moscow has stated that in 1991
women earned on average 75 percent as much as men, while in
1994 that figure had dropped to 40 percent, and unemployment
was three times higher among women than among men.  Men still
disproportionately occupy positions of influence and prestige
in both the Government and the economy.

Although the Government maintains no statistics, there is
considerable anecdotal evidence that violence against women,
including rape and spousal abuse, is both substantial and
growing.  Russian human rights monitors allege that police
often do not take an interest in cases of violence against
women, particularly cases of domestic violence.  Incidents
often go unreported because of the belief that the authorities
will do little about the matter and because of the victim's own
shame.  In the case of spousal abuse, there are no specific
legal provisions against wife beating, and legal recourse such
as bringing charges of assault is unlikely to be successful and
seldom exercised.

Anecdotal evidence also indicates that rape and sexual
exploitation and harassment in the workplace have grown
substantially.  According to the Sexual Assault Recovery
Center, thousands of unrecorded and uninvestigated rapes take
place.  Police reportedly are reluctant to deal with rape
complaints because investigating them is time-consuming, often
unsuccessful, and increases the unsolved crime statistics.  To
prove rape, the victim must have a mass of evidence including
material evidence of resistance and medical records.  Many
doctors are also reportedly uncooperative, fearing
time-consuming mandatory court appearances.

Statistics on crime rates do not disaggregate cases of
trafficking in women, and reliable estimates on the extent of
the problem are not available.  There were few instances of
persons being prosecuted for such activity in 1994.

The "Women of Russia" electoral bloc focused its campaign on
the need for guaranteed health care, education, and social
welfare.

     Children

The Constitution assigns the Government some responsibility for
safeguarding the rights of children.  However, the Government's
efforts to develop an effective social safety net are severely
hampered by its failure to allocate sufficient resources.  In
particular, living conditions in orphanages are deteriorating,
and adoptions by Russian families are declining.  Statistics
from human rights organizations state that about 20 percent of
Russian orphans commit crimes and are sent to prisons as
minors, and 10 percent commit suicide.  There are indications
that orphans and other disadvantaged children are becoming
instruments of organized criminal organizations.

     Indigenous People

The State Committee for the Development of the North, based in
Moscow, is tasked with representing and advocating the
interests of indigenous peoples.  With only a tiny staff, its
influence is limited.  Local committees have been formed in
some areas to study and make recommendations regarding the
preservation of the culture of indigenous people.  Indigenous
leaders criticize these committees as lacking political
influence.

     National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Discrimination against people from the Caucasus and Central
Asia increased in the middle of 1994 concurrently with new
measures at both the federal and local levels to combat crime.
With wide public support, law enforcement authorities targeted
dark-complexioned people for harassment, arrest, and
deportation from urban centers.  According to Russian human
rights monitors, some were dragged from automobiles in traffic,
harassed, extorted, and beaten in broad daylight on the
streets.

Human rights groups in Moscow criticized the discriminatory
procedures under which thousands of persons were forced to
leave the capital after the June crime decrees.  However, the
crackdown was generally applauded by Muscovites, who blame much
of the crime in the city on people from the Caucasus and
Central Asia.  Vendors and merchants in Moscow's many markets,
and in city markets throughout Russia, were also targets of
discrimination.  Concentrating on persons who by appearance
seemed to be from the Caucasus or Central Asia, Moscow police
forced many to halt their business, confiscated their wares,
and subjected them to physical abuse.

     Religious Minorities

Muslims comprise about 10 percent of the Russian population,
and there were no reports of official discrimination against
them.  The Russian Government last year facilitated travel on
the hajj to Saudi Arabia.  Between 4,000 and 6,000 Russian
Muslims made the pilgrimage.  There have been tensions between
Muslims and Christians in some areas, particularly Chechnya.

The Government of Russia does not condone anti-Semitism.
During the January 1994 Moscow Summit, President Yeltsin joined
President Clinton in a statement promoting human rights
observance that included specific condemnation of religious
intolerance and prejudice, including anti-Semitism.

Jewish leaders have increased efforts to revive the Russian
Jewish community and have received assistance from both local
and federal authorities in obtaining buildings to reopen
synagogues and Jewish schools.  The Russian "black book" on the
Holocaust, which was sponsored by Stalin and then suppressed,
was published with help from U.S. nongovernmental organizations
and released in September.

Nevertheless, anti-Semitism continues to exist and is
manifested in acts of vandalism and verbal assaults on persons
who appear to be Jewish.  On December 30, 1993, fire destroyed
one of Moscow's three synagogues.  The Jewish community
believes, and authorities suspect, that arson was the cause of
the blaze.  The results of the investigation by year's end were
still inconclusive.  In October a crude explosive or incendiary
device was found in the Moscow Choral Synagogue during an
evening choir rehearsal.  Authorities removed the device, which
caused no injuries or damage.

Popular expression of anti-Semitism is particularly evident in
politics.  Street protestors opposed to President Yeltsin often
refer to him pejoratively as a Jew, and antigovernment graffiti
often contains anti-Semitic imagery.  Subtle suggestions of
Jewish heritage manifested through mispronunciation of
politicians' names or ways they are printed in the press are
used as a means to discredit them.  The number of extreme
nationalist and outright Fascist publications which openly
promote anti-Semitic views and sold publicly is increasing.
The governmental agency responsible for regulating the print
media, the Russian Committee for the Press, in December
announced its intention to take legal action to stop the
publication of some 100 periodicals it considered Fascist.
(See Section 2.a. for a fuller description.)

Certain political and religious circles, led by Metropolitan
Ioann, the Russian Orthodox bishop of St. Petersburg,
disseminate strong anti-Semitic views.  Patriarch Aleksiy II,
the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, censured
Metropolitan Ioann for his anti-Semitic statements.
Nonetheless, Ioann's followers continue to express such views.

Section 6  Worker Rights

     a.  The Right of Association

Both the 1993 Constitution and the Labor Code provide for the
right of workers to form or join trade unions.  However, the
full exercise of this right is limited in practice.  Labor
unions are required to register with local authorities, which
in the past have used this requirement to discourage or block
the formation of new unions.  However, independent trade unions
have become more effective in countering obstruction by local
authorities.

Until October 1993, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions
of Russia (FNPR), the successor to the Soviet-era All-Union
Central Council of Trade Unions, was the principal obstacle to
the exercise by workers of their right to leave the FNPR and
join new independent unions.  It controlled the social
insurance fund which provides worker benefits, such as
disability and maternity payments, sick leave, and vacations.
Hence, many workers were reluctant to leave the FNPR and openly
join an independent union.

As of October 1993, the Labor Ministry began officially
administering the fund, but FNPR employees continue to manage
the day-to-day operations of local offices.  As a result,
discrimination and the threat of discrimination continue.  A
leading independent labor union allows workers to join without
compelling them to resign from the FNPR.

About 70 percent of Russia's 75 million workers are now members
of labor unions.  The FNPR, which had claimed a membership of
65 million, now admits that its membership has dropped to about
50 million workers.  Independent unions account for
approximately another 3 million workers.

Labor unions are independent of the Government and political
parties.  The FNPR was officially allied with the Civic Union,
but that relationship disintegrated in late 1993 because of the
FNPR's decision to support the opposition to President Yeltsin
during October 1993 and the Civic Union's poor showing in the
December 1993 elections.

Although the Russian Federation Labor Code provides that
workers have the right to strike, it also contains numerous
restrictions that severely limit the exercise of that right.
The Labor Code prohibits strikes for political reasons, strikes
that pose a threat to people's lives or health, and strikes
that might have "severe consequences," interpreted so as to
include the defense industry, communications, civil aviation,
and railroads.  The Labor Code requires a multistage process of
notification and negotiation before a strike is permitted.
Despite these restrictions, strikes are numerous in Russia.
According to the Labor Ministry, there were nearly 400 strikes
in the first 9 months of 1994, compared to 264 strikes in all
of 1993.  Several strikes were declared illegal, including a
nationwide strike of airline pilots.

The Government makes little effort to protect trade union
leaders and strikers from management retribution.  In numerous
instances in 1994, enterprise managers fired workers for their
union activities.  For example, during a strike at the Avtovaz
Automobile Factory, management first tried a lockout and then
unilaterally declared the strike illegal, bringing in police to
end the strike.  Forty workers involved in the strike were
fired for violations of "worker discipline."  The independent
labor union that organized the strike is appealing to senior
government officials and is contemplating court action to
reinstate the fired workers.

Independent labor unions continued to seek redress for labor
law violations from the Russian courts, with increasing rates
of success.  They have established two labor law centers to
help unions and their members enforce their rights in the
courts.

Unions are permitted to form or join federations or
confederations and may participate in international bodies.

     b.  The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

Collective bargaining is protected by law but is not practiced
widely.  The managements of many enterprises refuse to
negotiate collective bargaining agreements, and many of those
that are concluded are not the product of genuine collective
bargaining because of the close subordinate relationship of the
FNPR to enterprise management and because of management
personnel's membership in the FNPR.  Independent unions,
however, have been aggressive in demanding genuine collective
bargaining, and one of them boasts of concluding 2,000
collective bargaining agreements.

In several sectors of the economy, labor unions, management,
and government representatives in a tripartite commission
negotiate industrywide wages, benefits, and general conditions
of work.  This arrangement reinforces the workers' tendency to
rely on the Government to establish wages and other workplace
conditions.

The Labor Code does not explicitly prohibit antiunion
discrimination by employers although it is implied in several
sections.  Discrimination against one union in preference for
another continues to occur throughout Russian industry.  Under
current law, there is no mechanism for resolving labor
disputes.

Russia has several foreign enterprise zones.  There is no
evidence that worker rights are more restricted in these zones
than elsewhere in the country.

     c.  Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

The Labor Code prohibits forced or compulsory labor.  The
Committee of Soldiers' Mothers alleges that some military
conscripts were sold into servitude during their military
service (see Section l.c.).  Government enforcement is
ineffective.

     d.  Minimum Age for Employment of Children

The Labor Code does not permit the regular employment of
children under the age of 16.  In certain cases, children aged
14 and 15 may work in intern or apprenticeship programs.  The
Labor Code regulates the working conditions of children under
the age of 18, including prohibiting dangerous work and
nighttime and overtime work.  However, there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that the working conditions of children
under 18 violate Labor Code standards.  The responsibility for
the protection of children at work is shared by the Labor
Ministry and the Ministry for Social Protection, but government
enforcement is largely ineffective.

     e.  Acceptable Conditions of Work

The Federal Assembly sets the minimum wage, which applies to
all workers.  The current monthly minimum wage, set in July,
was 20,500 rubles (or about $6 at the December rate of
exchange) and was insufficient to provide a decent living for a
worker and family.  However, very few workers actually receive
the minimum wage.  Its primary purpose is to serve as a
baseline for computing benefits, pensions, and some wage scales
(primarily in civil service positions).

The Labor Code provides for a standard workweek of 40 hours,
which includes at least one 24-hour rest period.  The law
requires premium pay for overtime work or work on holidays.

Russian law establishes minimum conditions of workplace safety
and worker health, but these standards are widely ignored, and
government enforcement of safety and health regulations is
inadequate.  Industrial deaths and accidents continue to rise
dramatically.  The Labor Ministry reported that each day 30
workers die as a result of workplace accidents, while another
50 are injured.